中国物理B ›› 2013, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (4): 47401-047401.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/22/4/047401

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Study on signal intensity of low field nuclear magnetic resonance via indirect coupling measurement

蒋凤英a b, 王宁b, 金贻荣b, 邓辉b, 田野b, 郎佩琳a, 李洁b, 陈莺飞b, 郑东宁b   

  1. a School of Science, Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Beijing University of Postsand Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China;
    b Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • 收稿日期:2012-12-31 修回日期:2012-12-31 出版日期:2013-03-01 发布日期:2013-03-01
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (Grant Nos. 2011CBA00106 and 2009CB929102) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11104333, 11161130519, and 10974243).

Study on signal intensity of low field nuclear magnetic resonance via indirect coupling measurement

Jiang Feng-Ying (蒋凤英)a b, Wang Ning (王宁)b, Jin Yi-Rong (金贻荣)b, Deng Hui (邓辉)b, Tian Ye (田野)b, Lang Pei-Lin (郎佩琳)a, Li Jie (李洁)b, Chen Ying-Fei (陈莺飞)b, Zheng Dong-Ning (郑东宁)b   

  1. a School of Science, Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Beijing University of Postsand Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China;
    b Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • Received:2012-12-31 Revised:2012-12-31 Online:2013-03-01 Published:2013-03-01
  • Contact: Zheng Dong-Ning E-mail:dzheng@iphy.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (Grant Nos. 2011CBA00106 and 2009CB929102) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11104333, 11161130519, and 10974243).

摘要: We carry out an ultra-low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment based on high-Tc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). The measurement field is in a micro-tesla range (~ 10 μT-100 μT) and the experiment is conducted in a home-made magnetically-shielded-room (MSR). The measurements are performed by an indirect coupling method in which the signal of nuclei precession is indirectly coupled to the SQUID through a tuned copper coil transformer. In such an arrangement, the interferences of applied measurement and polarization field to the SQUID sensor are avoided and the performance of the SQUID is not destroyed. In order to compare the detection sensitivity obtained by using SQUID with that achieved by using the conventional low-noise-amplifier, we perform the measurements by using a commercial room temperature amplifier. The results show that in a wide frequency range (~ 1 kHz-10 kHz) the measurements with the SQUID sensor exhibit a higher signal-to-noise ratio. Further, we discuss the dependence of NMR peak magnitude on measurement frequency. We attribute the reduction of the peak magnitude at high frequency to the increased field inhomogeneity with measurement field increasing. This is verified by compensating the field gradient using three sets of gradient coils.

关键词: indirect coupling measurement, superconducting quantum interference devices, low field nuclear magnetic resonance

Abstract: We carry out an ultra-low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment based on high-Tc superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). The measurement field is in a micro-tesla range (~ 10 μT-100 μT) and the experiment is conducted in a home-made magnetically-shielded-room (MSR). The measurements are performed by an indirect coupling method in which the signal of nuclei precession is indirectly coupled to the SQUID through a tuned copper coil transformer. In such an arrangement, the interferences of applied measurement and polarization field to the SQUID sensor are avoided and the performance of the SQUID is not destroyed. In order to compare the detection sensitivity obtained by using SQUID with that achieved by using the conventional low-noise-amplifier, we perform the measurements by using a commercial room temperature amplifier. The results show that in a wide frequency range (~ 1 kHz-10 kHz) the measurements with the SQUID sensor exhibit a higher signal-to-noise ratio. Further, we discuss the dependence of NMR peak magnitude on measurement frequency. We attribute the reduction of the peak magnitude at high frequency to the increased field inhomogeneity with measurement field increasing. This is verified by compensating the field gradient using three sets of gradient coils.

Key words: indirect coupling measurement, superconducting quantum interference devices, low field nuclear magnetic resonance

中图分类号:  (Nuclear magnetic resonance)

  • 74.25.nj
76.60.-k (Nuclear magnetic resonance and relaxation) 85.25.Dq (Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs))